Musical drums

ABSTRACT

A drum is built on a rigid cylindrical frame primarily composed of two circular end supports in the form of rings, a cylindrical body shell between them, and a set of parallel spaced elongated brackets interconnecting these.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,911,779

Della-Porta Oct. 14, 1975 [54] MUSICAL DRUMS 1,767,133 6/1930 Hunt 84/411 x 75 Inventor: Clifford Della-Porta, Rothley, 2,3 222,;

England 3,818,791 6/1974 Zickos 84/411 [73] Assignee: The Premier Drum Company Limited, South Wigston, England [22] Filed: June 13, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 478,925

5521 Us. c1 84/411; 84/411 [51] Int. Cl. G10D 13/02 [58] Field of Search 84/411,4ll.1,412,413,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,420,233 6/1922 Baldwin et al. 84/41 1 Primary ExaminerLawrence R. Franklin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Darby & Darby [57] ABSTRACT A drum is built on a rigid cylindrical frame primarily composed of two circular end supports in the form of rings, a cylindrical body shell between them, and a set of parallel spaced elongated brackets interconnecting these.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures US. Patent 0a. 1 4, 1975. 3,911,779

1 MUSICAL DRUMS This invention relates to musical drums, that is to say drums which are used as percussion instruments, as exemplified by orchestral snare drums.

It has been an object of this invention to cater for a simplified and economical method of construction of drums of this character and, in pursuit of this aim, it has been possible to secure additional benefits and potential benefits.

In short, the present inventor has devised a drum comprising a rigid, generally cylindrical frame incorporating two circular end supports interconnected by a set of parallel spaced brackets extending between them, a cylindrical body wall extending between said end supports, at least one counterhoop carried by said brackets through the agency of a tightening rod, and a flesh hoop acted on by said counterhoop. The shell body wall of the drum can be secured to the brackets and/or to the end supports.

As a basic principle, then, a drum has been devised in which the main load-bearing parts have been concentrated into a rigid skeleton which can be made of a robust structure and materials, thus allowing considerable flexibility in the choice of the shell or body and other components of the drum (see below), with a concomitant saving in material and labour costs.

As will be apparent the basic features of the drum according to this invention can be developed in various ways, the requirements being that the end supports and the brackets shall be of a rigid nature.

One form of drum in accordance with this invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the drum shown without counte'rhoops, and

FIG. 2 is a section through the wall of the drum with thecounterhoops mounted thereon.

In the drawing the essential components of the rigid drum skeleton are the two end supports 1 and 2 and the brackets 3 which interconnect them. The end supports referred to may be made of any convenient rigid mate rial for example metal or plastics, and it will be observed that they are each provided with a reinforcing edge 4, which can be of any convenient cross-section, and an out-turned annular rib 5. These annular ribs are accommodated in notches 6 provided therefor in the brackets 3. I

These brackets are of elongate bar form, and again can be of any convenient rigid material. They are attached to the rib of the end supports by a screw connection indicated" at 7.

In an alternative construction, indicated at the righthand side of FIG. 1 in the accompanying drawings, the brackets 3 could be interrupted and, for example, each constituted by two separate elements 30 secured by individual screws 7 and 9.

In the particular case illustrated the shell of the'drum is completed by a body wall 8 interposed between the end supports 1 and 2 and this in turn is secured to brackets 3 by means of screws 9.

The brackets 3 also serve for the mounting of the counterhoops of the assembled drum, these being designated l0 and 11. It will be observed that each bracket is hollow and provided towards each end with a web 12 which receives the end of a stem 13 which at its outer end carries a nut 14 bearing on the outer rim of the corresponding counterhoop 10 or 1 1. A flesh hoop, 15 and 16 respectively, is provided around each end of the drum and a spacer ring 17 is provided between the counterhoop and the flesh hoop in each case. Hence tightening of each nut 14 will be transmitted through the spacer ring to the corresponding flesh hoop thereby to tension the skin connected to this flesh hoop, over the reinforcing edge 4 concerned.

It will be understood that the invention includes variations and modifications of the arrangement described. Thus although it is convenient for the brackets 3 to be attached directly to an intermediate circular body wall such as 8 extending between the end support 1 and 2 this attachment may be dispensed with or the wall may be mounted on the supports only.

This body wall can be made of various sheet materials having the appropriate resonance characteristics. Plywood is a light and inexpensive product which can be used and this can be given an attractive finish by a covering of plastic paint or sheet.

The body wall could in another instance, be made of an e.g. acrylic plastic and, to enhance the visual appeal, this could be given a metallised internal finish. This can be developed further by moulding ribs or other formations into the acrylic wall in various patterns, or to give other visual effects.

The end supports could similarly be of an acrylic or other plastic composition and given a similar finish.

In a modification, instead of the body wall being rigid, it could be made of a flexible sheet material whereby the drum can be given unusual resonance characteristics.

I claim:

1. A drum shell comprising a rigid, generally cylindrical frame comprising a cylindrical body wall, a circular end support at each end of said body wall, each end support being in the form of a ring with a peripheral rib, a plurality of parallel brackets spaced from one another around the periphery of the assembly of end supports and body wall, said brackets being formed at their ends with notch means for complementary engagement with the rib of at least one of the end supports, and means for securing said brackets to said cylindrical body wall and said end supports.

2. A drum shell as in claim 1 wherein said brackets have notch means at each end thereof for complementary engagement with the ribs of both end supports.

3. A drum as in claim 1 said plurality of brackets includes a respective first plurality of brackets for the respective rib of one of the end supports and a second plurality of brackets for the rib of the other end support.

4. A drum having the shell as in claim 1 further comprising at least one counterhoop, a plurality of tightening rods each passing through the counterhoop at one end and into a bracket at the other end, means within a said bracket for holding the other end of a said tightening rod, and a flesh hoop engaged by said counterhoop. 

1. A drum shell comprising a rigid, generally cylindrical frame comprising a cylindrical body wall, a circular end support at each end of said body wall, each end support being in the form of a ring with a peripheral rib, a plurality of parallel brackets spaced from one another around the periphery of the assembly of end supports and body wall, said brackets being formed at their ends with notch means for complementary engagement with the rib of at least one of the end supports, and means for securing said brackets to said cylindrical body wall and said end supports.
 2. A drum shell as in claim 1 wherein said brackets have notch means at each end thereof for complementary engagement with the ribs of both end supports.
 3. A drum as in claim 1 said plurality of brackets includes a respective first plurality of brackets for the respective rib of one of the end supports and a second plurality of brackets for the rib of the other end support.
 4. A drum having the shell as in claim 1 further comprising at least one counterhoop, a plurality of tightening rods each passing through the counterhoop at one end and into a bracket at the other end, means within a said bracket for holding the other end of a said tightening rod, and a flesh hoop engaged by said counterhoop. 